The report was compiled by the Associate Parliamentary Health Forum, which aims to inform MPs about health issues in their constituencies.

Dr Derek Munday, chief executive of the Wokingham Primary Care Trust, said: "There have been times when over the last year orthopaedic surgeons have not been able to run full operating lists because beds are taken up with recovering patients.

"The new figures do not surprise me. It is a long running problem and involves lack of funds for the local council and the decline of care in the community.

"Patients in hospital beds should have been at home or in care homes in the community, but the costs in this area are too high for the grants we are given.

"To unblock all of the beds which are in use at the moment for recovering patients, there would have to be a massive cash boost, more nursing homes, and more care support services."

John Redwood, MP for Wokingham, said: "I am very conscious that we have unacceptably long waiting lists and operating times.

"Hip replacements are just one of the problems that we have to deal with.

"Our constituency is being badly let down, especially as we are a prosperous area that pays a great deal in tax.

"I asked a question recently in the health forum asking if more money would be promised for Berkshire and I got no guarantee whatsoever."

The latest figures, taken from March 2001, reveal a huge range of waiting times for both hip replacements and heart bypass operations.

The shortest wait for a hip implant, of less than 150 days, is in Hackney South and Shoreditch, and the longest wait of nearly 400 days is in Southampton Test.